Mr Miggle

October 9th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^

when lying to make a point comes naturally to them. It was completely unnecessary. This wasn't making up a little story to motivate someone. While whether he viewed the video may not be too important, the circumstances of the video were extremely so. It's probably the most serious issue that had come up in his coaching career. His role in the aftermath of the charges was surely going to be examined and might well have some importance in the legal process. If he was lyng then, when is he telling the truth?

Steve in PA

October 9th, 2014 at 10:55 PM ^

Nobody on the coaching staff or the AD saw the hit on Shane but 85,000+ and untold hundreds of thousands saw the hit and him being held up by a lineman. 

Haven't talked to the AD but the AD has done a complete investigation in the last 48 hours

Gibbons and family issues.

Yes, I agree when someone repeatedly lies when it would just as easy to tell the truth does say a lot about their character.  And I shall not be chucking stones from or showering in my glass house.

edventure008

October 9th, 2014 at 2:07 PM ^

@Pinto1987



To add in between points 1 and 2



1. allegations that he told a player to delete video of the incidence in order to protect the players and to cover up the rape

2. allegations of Franklin contacting the victim 4 days after the incident

aplatypus

October 9th, 2014 at 2:37 PM ^

Franklin now is saying he never saw the video. 

Players involved said they showed it to him very early in the whole thing. If those allegations are true it means

1. He knew about it and tried to help players cover up a very bad rape incident

2. Lied under oath when he said he really had not seen it before addressing his team. 

If those allegations are true, and right now there's no telling, then that is very very very bad for Franklin and PSU. 

NestleCrunch

October 9th, 2014 at 12:29 PM ^

What's the problem here, did you actually watch the video? He lied to his team that he saw the video in order to send the message about how dsigusting it was and how angry he was. He told a white lie, something we all do when we deem neccessary. Oh how horrible, how can he live with himself. Give me a break. Sometimes lying is for the greater good, especially something so miniscule such as that.

Mr Miggle

October 9th, 2014 at 12:34 PM ^

that it was a move born out of desperation. Whatever comes out of this, he seems sleazy. I wonder if he's going to have to testify in his former players' trials. That could be interesting.

tenerson

October 9th, 2014 at 12:41 PM ^

This is the first time I've read about this situation. This is nothing. I thought the headlines I had seen indicated he had seen a video but then lied and said he didn't. This is the opposite and his intentions weren't bad. He lied in an effort to make a very good point to his team and to encourage that they don't do things that are awful. 

SysMark

October 9th, 2014 at 12:48 PM ^

I realize he's a good coach but with all that had gone on at PSU you would think they would have done everything possible to avoid anyone with the remotest link to something like this.  Winning trumps all.

AMazinBlue

October 9th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^

An exaggeration of the truth to make a point is lie.  If the point is valid, has integrity and merit, then the lie, if harming no one in its essence, gets the point across, I have no problem with it.  Due to the nature of the criminal act, and everyone's heightened awareness of coaches and administrators proper handling of information with respect to those criminal acts, it's no surprise people are reacting negatively to Franklin's admission.  He cover up nothing, he didn't hinder an investigation or absolve the players of their actions.  He simply admitted to using a piece of evidence to make a point that he didn't actually have full knowledge of.  Ehhh, okay.

Brown Bear

October 9th, 2014 at 12:49 PM ^

The smoke is that one of the former players involved said that he showed Franklin the video, Franklin told him to delete it after watching it.
Now he is denying seeing it to cover up the telling player to delete it. Who knows who is lying but someone is that why there is smoke.



Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad

MI Expat NY

October 9th, 2014 at 1:50 PM ^

I'm with you.  I haven't seen any evidence of Franklin actually being in a position to see the tape.  And why in the hell would someone accused of rape say "oh yeah, I taped it, it was bad.  Coach told me to delete it."?  Wouldn't it be better for the accused rapist for that conversation to have never taken place?  Doesn't it imply that a third person saw what happened and thought it was bad?

 

Wolverine 73

October 9th, 2014 at 12:52 PM ^

We'll never know, but to me the most interesting thing would be to know what discussions he had with his lawyers in preparing for his testimony.  Did you see the tape?  No.  Why did you say you saw it?  I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Well, we need a reason to explain the lie--let's put our heads together and think of something that sounds benign and plausible.  [several versions later]  OK, so it's "I wanted to send a strong message and didn't want the fact I hadn't seen the tape interfere with the message."  Yeah, let's roll with that one.

goblue9

October 9th, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^

I don't know what it is but James Franklin has always come across to me as a snake in the grass.  I don't know if it's the way he looks or the things like this that he says and does, just seems like a slimy snake.

DrewGOBLUE

October 9th, 2014 at 1:00 PM ^

So if what Franklin currently saying is a lie, and he did in fact see this video of the incident, he must have immediately dismissed the four players involved regardless, no? I guess I'm not understanding the point in refuting his past statement as long as he responded to the situation appropriately.



The tidbit about the girl "assisting" with recruiting though...that could open up a can of worms.

MFan73

October 9th, 2014 at 1:04 PM ^

From what I understand from the article is that he lied to his team about actually seeing the video, but one of the accused claims he showed it to Franklin.  Franklin denies this.  So either he's lying about seeing it or lied to team about seeing it.  Either way, it looks bad.  If he did actually see it from one of the four accused players, then he lied in his testimony.  Which is not good for him or PSU going forward.  Or he lied to his team at the time, which I don't get.  What is the point with lying about something like that when it involves rape.  No matter what his intentions were at the time, it just doesn't look good later when it all becomes public, and things like accused rape by an FBS football player(s) always will be news.

mackbru

October 9th, 2014 at 1:17 PM ^

Some lies are worse than others. If this particular lie really went down the way he said it did -- that he was simply trying to insure that his players were being truthful in the face of very serious suspicions -- the lie becomes a somewhat noble one akin to when parents challenge dissembling teenagers. Had I been in his position, and had there been ample reason to doubt the players's stories, perhaps I would have done the same thing. Franklin's version of events, if accurate, suggests a coach who was NOT whitewashing allegations of sexual abuse, and who was actually try to get to the truth. 

Now maybe Franklin is spinning here. I don't know. But unless proven otherwise...

 

Prince Lover

October 9th, 2014 at 1:52 PM ^

Why lie to the team about seeing the video? Okay, I know he said to not water down his anger. But this was a rape case, not a hazing video or a prank video where there may be some interpretation involved. This was rape, is there any ambiguity in anger of rape?

My 2 cents, he's lying about lying.

PhilipVU94

October 9th, 2014 at 4:11 PM ^

The Vanderbilt administration gave him a lot of heat for recruiting the kids that led to this incident--supposedly the Chancellor used to meet with him until this happened, then gave him the cold shoulder, strengthening his resolve to leave (which, to be clear, would have happened anyway).

I grant that the rest of the SEC is by and large an ethical cesspool but let's be careful with the broad brush.

jblaze

October 9th, 2014 at 3:39 PM ^

look and see how this is covered vs. how anything Hoke says or does is covered.

When you win games, nobody cares about these types of things. When you lose, everybody and their mom goes crazy.

PhilipVU94

October 9th, 2014 at 3:57 PM ^

I really miss his competent coaching and appreciate what he did for us--good heavens, I can't tell you how much I miss his competent coaching--but I don't at all miss wondering when his lack of integrity would lead to something like this. He wants to always be the center of attention, which is understandable for a major CFB HC, but now he's got what he wished for.

WNY in Savannah

October 9th, 2014 at 7:11 PM ^

This is also the guy who said he would only hire an assistant coach with a "hot wife".  He seems like absolute garbage.  Why would anyone believe anything he says?  And Penn St, with their issues, was the last school in the country that should have hired this guy.  I find that more and more people don't care about anything but winning.  That worries me greatly with Michigan headed toward a new coach, because I do still care about more than winning.